The Puppy Chronicles: I Really Screwed Things Up
by Cloudplay7
Summary: Zack messed with his buddy Cloud all the time, but it isn't until the SOLDIER tests that he really messed things up.


**A/N: I DO NOT OWN FINAL FANTASY VII! I hope you all enjoy!**

Zack was on cleaning duty today for gluing chocobo feathers to Cloud's face and arms. He grunted as he fought the dirt off the floor. He was a SOLDIER doing janitor work… How embarrassing. Sephiroth himself had scolded him for continuous practical jokes on the little cadet. Cloud had been getting teased more than usual after Zack's recent chocobo-head jokes. Zack did feel bad for his little buddy, but he also loved to play pranks on him. So now he just had to suck up the fact that he had cleaning duty.

Luckily, his cleaning duty only was for one day. After that day, he went back to training with Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis. They were doing a match with the three of them versus Sephiroth. Sephiroth obviously won, even though the other team had three people. That just goes to show how powerful Shin-Ra's star general is.

Zack was very tired after their session. As soon as he got back to his apartment, he flopped down onto his soft bed. He then started to snore heavily.

Zack woke up again in the morning then immediately started doing his signature squats. Today was the day his little chocobo-headed buddy got to take the test! Zack grinned, his friend would definitely pass!

Zack ran down the halls down to the area where Cloud lived with the other cadets. As soon as he saw the little spikey haired blonde, he picked him up and he gets him. Cloud started wheezing, so Zack put him down then patted his head and said, "Okeee, today is the day you pass the dumb test and become a SOLDIER with meeee! I believe in you, go for it!"

Then he proceeded to drag the little boy down the hall to the room they'd be taking the test in. He pushed Cloud through the door to the room then smiled at the stern test proctors. He ruffled Cloud's hair one more time before zipping out of the room and up into the observation room. He stood up close to the glass and then started doing more of his squats. He watched as Cloud's classmates filed into the room to stand in the middle. He saw the proctor's mouth move then all the cadets dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups. Zack watched proudly as his little buddy did perfect push-ups.

Next the class did squats, which Zack had made sure Cloud could do perfectly. He was not disappointed. After that they did sit-ups, ran 10 laps around the testing room, then did jumping jacks. At the end, there were only 30 out of 70 of the recruits to make it to the next portion of the test, the dreaded paper test.

The cadets all went back to their rooms to get results for the physical test and get some rest before the next test. Zack went and found his mentor Angeal and told him about how well his friend did on the test. Angeal grinned at his student's bragging, amused by how he went on and on about Cloud. Angeal then reminded Zack that he still hadn't eaten since breakfast.

Zack then ran to the mess hall to go get some dinner. There he found Sephiroth and flooded him with his bragging about Cloud. Sephiroth just sighed at his excited fellow SOLDIER. Today there was hard as rock spaghetti noodles and garlic bread for dinner. Zack had a feeling that it could crack someone who wasn't enhanced's teeth if they attempted to eat it.

He finished up eating then went to the gym to do some squats and other basic exercises before once again laying down on his bed to sleep.

The next day Zack once again grabbed Cloud, this time not setting the blonde down until they got to the testing room which was now filled with 30 desks which the volunteers had dragged in last night. He once again ruffled Cloud's hair before dropping him inside the testing room. This time, Zack wasn't aloud to watch the exams, so he went to go bother, I mean hang out with, Sephiroth and Angeal.

Zack met them in the SOLDIER's lounge with two cups of coffee and a tea. He gave the tea to the general then gave his mentor one of the coffee cups. They thanked him the proceeded to slowly sip their drinks. Zack asked, "Hey, how do you guys think Spikey is gonna do on the test? Do you think he's gonna do good? Do you? DO YOU?!"

Angeal replied, "Whoah, calm down Puppy. I'm sure he'll do fine, you sound like an obsessed maniacal mother. Just don't worry. Take deep breaths."

Zack stood up and took deep breaths while doing squats. After he was relatively calm, he sat back down and slipped some coffee. He made a face then spit it back into the cup with a _bleh_. He didn't mind most coffee, but this stuff was dreadful. Couldn't Shin-Ra at least be kind enough to provide them with good coffee? Of course not… Zack and company idly chatted about things. Zack then suggested they go to the gym to practice. They all agreed because sitting around chatting was getting very boring, very fast.

When they got to the training gym, they were stopped from entering by a man. He told them that nobody was allowed to use the gyms until the SOLDIER exam for today was over. So then having no choice, they followed Zack out of the building and to a restaurant.

Zack looked very gleeful at getting them out of the building without a fight, this was a milestone for Zack. They all sat in their usual booth at the back of the restaurant. Little did they know that a group of Sephiroth's fangirls had spotted them coming in. The fangirls had taken a more smart and sneaky approach, wearing over-the-top fancy dresses to blend in. They giggled as they watched Sephiroth eating, snapping photos of him talking to his friends and writing down the things he ate and listening to their conversation, taking notes on the important parts. Some members of Zack and Angeal's fanclubs had also tagged along, but for the most part it was Sephy stalkers.

The SOLDIERs at the table had a weird feeling that they were being watched, but when they looked around there were only the fancy ladies from their party and the many waitresses and waiters bustling around trying to serve all of their many customers. They eventually just came to the decision that it was probably just the waiters watching to see if their celebrity guests needed anything. They talked about what cadets they thought would pass, future missions, and just life. The fans gobbled up their talk like sharks did schools of fish.

The SOLDIERs left the restaurant with full stomachs and still no idea that they had been stalker. After Zack and his friends had left the fans discussed their findings and posted them, extremely pleased with themselves.

Zack and his friends strolled around for awhile before heading back to the Shin-Ra building. The cadet's written exams were done, so Zack obviously needed to go and see Cloudy. He ran through the halls, running into all sorts of people, he even ran into the president's son and vice president, Rufus Shinra. That earned him some major scolding and cleaning duty again scheduled for after the tests were all completed. Zack sighed then once Rufus was out of sight, he began running at full speed once more, yelling, "GOTTA GO FAST!"

When he got to the door to the testing room, the recruits were already coming out. Zack waited until he saw a blonde head bobbing then picked him up out of the crowd. Unfortunately, the kid he picked up was **not **Cloud, and was screaming and kicking, attempting to get free. Zack put the kid down, his face hot and tomato red. The little recruits looked at Zack with wide eyes, some sniggering at his mistake. The boy he'd hugged looked pale. He looked down at his feet, ashamed by what he did.

But then he saw his actual target and forgot all about what happened. He then ran up to Cloud and gave him a tight bear hug. The boy weazed and squirmed a little. He said in a small choked voice, "Please put me down, I think your going to choke me to death."

Zack ignored Cloud's complaints until the little blonde went limp in his arms. He looked at Cloud's purple face then started running through the halls to the infirmary yelling, "KID DOWN! KID DOWN! I CHOKED SPIKEY BY ACCIDENT!"

When Zack burst into the infirmary wing, the doctors just sighed. Zack worriedly told them about what happened, which earned him several more sighs. They ended up cutting him short and taking the kid because Zack just wouldn't shut up. Zack apologized then thanked the doctors five times before the doctor could get him to leave.

Zack then left to tell his mentor about what he'd done. Angeal sighed at Zack, he always seemed to be getting in trouble for one thing or another, usually involving pranks of some sort. Angeal replied to his report by stating, "Zack, you need to start being more careful. Being part of SOLDIER doesn't mean being reckless."

Zack opened his mouth to argue that he wasn't being reckless, but then closed it and slumped his shoulders. It was kinda true… He did charge into things a lot without a second thought… Then he said, "Alright, I gotta go check on Spikey now, see ya later."

Zack walked down the quiet halls towards the medical wing. It was odd that it was this quiet. It was only the evening, so there should've been people strolling the halls… A sudden bang pulled Zack out of his thoughts. The wall of the infirmary exploded. Doctors flew through the doorway along with their patients. Zack watched as people dressed in black entered, guns and explosives in hand. Zack growled. They had exploded the room his little chocobo was in. He wanted to go check for his friend, but he knew he needed to stop the invaders.

Angeal who had been just down the hall at the sound of the explosion, Buster Sword drawn. Zack drew his own SOLDIER issue broadsword and then they both charged at the enemies. The invaders tried to shoot them down, but the SOLDIERs were too fast for them to aim at properly. They eventually cleared the area of invaders. They received a call that said, "All clear, all enemies in sight down. Report to the president."

Angeal left Zack to go and check on the president and then Zack immediately started checking the bodies around the room. He finally found Cloud crumpled near a wall, blood streaming down his face from his mouth. One of his arms seemed to be broken along with a rib, but other than that he was fine. Zack carefully picked him up then carried him away from the wreckage. His friend definitely wouldn't pass this time… And to think, it was all Zack's fault.

After Angeal finished reporting to the president, he came back to see Zack in the lounge. Zack had laid the cadet out on one of the lounge's couches. Angeal walked over to the couch Zack had put Cloud on then cast a Cure 2 on the injured cadet. Cloud's wounds began healing up, but he wound need some time to rest up before going back to training. Which meant he wouldn't be able to complete the final part of the test. Zack was disappointed in himself for ruining his best friend's chances of making it into SOLDIER. He had really screwed things up this time…

The next day, Cloud had woken up. Zack apologized many times about messing things up, but Cloud had just said that it wasn't his fault and that he probably wouldn't have made it anyways then thanked Zack for believing in him. Zack knew it was his fault, no matter how many times people said otherwise. His friends kept attempting to bring up his mood, Cloud even encouraged him to make chocobo head jokes. But nothing could cheer Zack up right now, not when he knew he actually messed something important up.

After about two weeks of being in a pity party, Zack learned that recruits could retest next year if it was their first time to fail. So maybe his buddy still could do it even though Zack messed up his chances this year. Now Zack just needed to pester Cloud into re-enrolling… Zack wouldn't have his friend in the regular army for long!

**The End**


End file.
